Currency and Gold Prices Rise Again; Dollar Reaches 14,350 Tomans

Reports indicate that the prices of the dollar and gold have risen again in the Iranian market. On Tuesday, the dollar reached 14,350 tomans, and the price of the old design gold coin increased to 4,551,000 tomans. Meanwhile, the Young Journalists Club, affiliated with state media, reported that currency exchange offices are refusing to sell foreign currency. While ISNA reported the dollar rate on Tuesday, September 26, as 14,300 tomans, some Telegram channels have stated it as 14,350 tomans. According to this news agency, the euro is also trading at around 16,400 tomans. Last Tuesday, the dollar rate had risen by 1,400 tomans to 13,800 tomans. ISNA also reported that the increase in currency prices began again on Saturday. According to this report, the dollar price initially rose to about 13,900 tomans on Sunday before finally reaching 14,300 tomans. Currency market participants believe that the publication of certain political news since Saturday night and the upcoming holidays are factors contributing to the increase in currency prices, which has led to a rise in demand in the market. ILNA reported that the rejection of the anti-money laundering bill, one of four bills related to the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regulations, by the Expediency Council was cited as a reason for the dollar's price increase last week. In recent days, Tehran officials have deemed the European Union's actions to preserve the JCPOA as insufficient, and Iran's Foreign Minister has threatened the EU that if there is no balance between Iran's achievements and data from the Vienna nuclear agreement, the Islamic Republic will increase its uranium enrichment percentage while remaining in the JCPOA. The sharp increase in currency prices in Iran's free market began in Farvardin (March-April) following reports about the potential exit of the U.S. from the JCPOA. Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, since the U.S. exited the JCPOA on May 8 of this year, the value of Iran's national currency has decreased by more than 140%. The return of U.S. sanctions began on August 6, and the U.S. has announced that in the next phase of sanctions, which will start on November 4, it aims to reduce Iran's oil sales to zero. From the perspective of some analysts, oil sales sanctions and banking sanctions will be the most significant sanctions against Iran, a point that some Iranian officials have also acknowledged.